IV 

113TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. RES. 541 

Supporting the goals and ideals of Sexual Assault Awareness and Prevention 

Month. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

APRIL 3, 2014 

Mr. REED (for himself and Ms. MOORE) submitted the following resolution; 

which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary 

RESOLUTION 

Supporting the goals and ideals of Sexual Assault Awareness 

and Prevention Month. 

Whereas on average another person is sexually assaulted in 

the United States every 2 minutes; 

Whereas the Department of Justice reports that more than 

200,000 people in the United States are sexually assaulted each year; 

Whereas 1 in 6 women and 1 in 33 men have been victims 

of rape or attempted rape; 

Whereas children and young adults are most at risk of sexual 

assault, as 44 percent of victims of sexual assault are 

under the age of 18, and 80 percent are under the age 

of 30; 


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Whereas sexual assault affects women, men, and children of 

all racial, social, religious, age, ethnic, ability, sexual orientation, and economic groups in the United States; 

Whereas the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) recently 

expanded its definition of rape to include sexual assault 

against males, which will assist in making reporting of 

this devastating crime more accurate and provide a better 

understanding of its effects on victims; 

Whereas in addition to the immediate physical and emotional 

costs, sexual assault has associated consequences that 

may include post-traumatic stress disorder, substance 

abuse, depression, homelessness, eating disorders, and 

suicide; 

Whereas all forms of sexual violence are unacceptable, whether committed by a stranger, family member or acquaintance of the victim; 

Whereas less than half of sexual assault victims pursue prosecution by reporting their attack to law enforcement 

agencies; 

Whereas by fully assessing the scope of the backlog of untested evidence in the possession of law enforcement and 

crime labs and by using DNA technology to eliminate the 

backlog, there is potential to identify and prosecute rapists in tens of thousands of unsolved cases; 

Whereas aggressive prosecution can lead to the incarceration 

of rapists, who tend to be serial criminals who methodically select their victims and plan their crimes, thereby 

preventing them from committing further crimes; 

Whereas national, State, territory, and tribal coalitions, community-based sexual assault service providers, law enforcement agencies, and other organizations across the 


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•HRES 541 IH 

United States are committed to increasing public awareness of sexual violence and its prevalence, and to eliminating it through improvements to the criminal justice 

system and programs to prevent crime and educate the 

public; 

Whereas important partnerships have been formed among 

criminal and juvenile justice agencies, health professionals, public health workers, educators, first responders, and victim service providers; 

Whereas free, confidential help is available to all victims and 

survivors of sexual assault through the National Sexual 

Assault Hotline (800–565–HOPE) and National Sexual 

Assault Online Hotline (online.rainn.org), and more than 

1,000 sexual assault service providers across the United 

States; 

Whereas the Department of Defense (DOD) estimates that 

more than 19,000 members of the Armed Forces are sexually assaulted each year; 

Whereas the DOD Safe Helpline, operated by the Rape, 

Abuse & Incest National Network (RAINN) on behalf of 

DOD, provides live help to Active duty servicemembers 

and other members of the DOD community worldwide by 

phone (877–995–5247) and online at SafeHelpline.org, 

as well as installation-based referrals via texting; 

Whereas the Safe Helpline mobile app allows survivors of sexual assault in the military to create a customized selfcare plan and connect to resources from anywhere in the 

world; 

Whereas the DOD Safe HelpRoom, a moderated online peer 

support service allows survivors of sexual assault in the 


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•HRES 541 IH 

military to connect with one another in a secure online 

environment; 

Whereas according to a 2013 survey of rape crisis centers by 

the National Alliance to End Sexual Violence, almost 75 

percent of rape crisis centers lost funding in the past 

year, over 50 percent of programs have laid-off staff in 

the past year, and over 33 percent of programs have a 

waiting list for counseling services, with some waiting 

times exceeding 2 months; 

Whereas individual and collective efforts reflect the dream for 

a Nation where citizens and organizations actively work 

to prevent all forms of sexual violence and no sexual assault victim goes unserved and no sexual assault perpetrator goes unpunished; and 

Whereas April is recognized as ‘‘National Sexual Assault 

Awareness and Prevention Month’’: Now, therefore, be it 

1 Resolved, That— 

2 (1) it is the sense of the House of Representa3 tives that— 

4 (A) National Sexual Assault Awareness 

5 and Prevention Month provides a special oppor6 tunity to educate the people of the United 

7 States about sexual violence and to encourage 

8 the prevention of sexual assault, the improved 

9 treatment of its victims, and the prosecution of 

10 its perpetrators; 

11 (B) it is appropriate to properly acknowl12 edge the more than 20 million men and women 


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1 who have survived sexual assault in the United 

2 States and salute the efforts of survivors, volun3 teers, and professionals who combat sexual as4 sault; 

5 (C) national and community organizations 

6 and private sector supporters should be recog7 nized and applauded for their work in pro8 moting awareness about sexual assault, pro9 viding information and treatment to its sur10 vivors, and increasing the number of successful 

11 prosecutions of its perpetrators; and 

12 (D) public safety, law enforcement, and 

13 health professionals should be recognized and 

14 applauded for their hard work and innovative 

15 strategies to increase the percentage of sexual 

16 assault cases that result in the prosecution and 

17 incarceration of the offenders; 

18 (2) the House of Representatives strongly rec19 ommends national and community organizations, 

20 businesses in the private sector, colleges and univer21 sities, and the media to promote, through National 

22 Sexual Assault Awareness and Prevention Month, 

23 awareness of sexual violence and strategies to de24 crease the incidence of sexual assault; and 


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1 (3) the House of Representatives supports the 

2 goals and ideals of National Sexual Assault Aware3 ness and Prevention Month. 

Æ 


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